The Prisoner's Son
by Ramzes
Summary: AU. The Hardest Battle series. We all know how Harry Potter felt, when Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban. But how did Cane Black feel?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing except for my own characters_

Chapter 1

It was hunger that woke him at eight o'clock in the morning. During his summer holidays, the only thing that could wake Cane Black in his free days was hunger. Last night he'd come home too late and too tired of the whole day, spent working at the construction site to do anything else but taking his clothes off and collapsing in bed. Now, he was so hungry that he could eat everyone's breakfast, plus Morgaine. He stretched himself, got out of the bed and putting the fist clothes he saw on his overburdened chair, he went downstairs to check what was left from yesterday dinner.

Remus was already in the kitchen. That did not surprise Cane, who had long ago used to his guardian's strange sleeping habits – really, who in their right mind would wake up voluntarily before eight o'clock in Saturday afternoon, if he was not hungry? Only Remus.

"Good morning," Cane said. In fact, the sounds that came out of his mouth, were more like ' Gutmou', but he knew that Remus would understand.

"Hi, Cane. Why are you up so early?" Remus was trying to speak casually, but there was a strange change in his voice and Cane did not miss it.

"Hey, whasgoon?"

"Nothing." But Remus avoided the boy's eyes.

Cane merely cocked his head to one side, and Remus sighed. "Sirius escaped Azkaban last night."

Cane, who was never much of a morning person, suddenly found himself completely awake and capable of articulate speech. "But how - ? Are you sure?"

Remus looked at Cane for the first time and pointed at the newspaper on the sofa next to him. Cane took it. It was the Daily Prophet.

In the first few seconds, he thought he was looking at one of the patients in the hospitals that Muggles called psycho-something. Then he realized that the man staring madly at him was none other than his own father, incredibly changed and practically unrecognizable, with his long tangled hair and this horrible maniacal grin on his sallow face. Cane's eyes quickly scanned the article. Finally, he threw the newspaper angrily away and looked at Remus. There were incredulousness and hopelessness struggling on his face. "Dear Merlin, that bastard did it again! He managed to do the thing that was never expected to happen. How does he do that? How does he achieve it?"

Remus wisely withheld his comments.

"I can't believe it!" Cane continued agitatedly. "I thought I wouldn't have to hear his name ever again. I am not lucky. Dear Merlin, couldn't he just rot in Azkaban, as he was supposed to?"

Remus looked away. It always saddened him to hear Cane talking this way, mostly because he knew that the boy meant every word he said. Cane was way too young to hold such a deep hatred within him, and towards his own father, of all people, but it was a fact. In the months and years, following Sirius' betrayal, Cane had learned how to hate.

There was a knock at the front door that made them both jump. Cane cursed himself for leaving his wand on his bedside table. Remus' wand was already in his hand. Old reflexes were coming back really fast.

"Who is out there?" Remus asked.

"Remus, it's me."

Remus relaxed and nodded at Cane, who went to answer the door. Of course, he could have just done it with his wand, but in his household, a general opinion was held that there was no need of magic for the most casual things.

Cane unlocked the door, opened it and found himself face to face with an old man who wore half-moon glasses and long white beard. His eyes were blue and thoughtful. Although Cane had never met him – at least he could not remember their meetings, - he knew who he was. "Headmaster Dumbledore?"

The old man smiled, although his face remained quite serious. "Mr Black, I believe?"

Cane flinched. Suddenly, the thought of being addressed by his last name did not sound appealing, not in the least. "Cane. Just Cane."

"Yes, of course. Cane." The blue eyes did not leave the teenager's face, wise, appraising. Cane barely refrained from flinching again, for he felt certain what the old man was thinking right now. Angry with himself for letting this get to him, he held his chin up and slightly changed his face, so now he resembled his father more than ever – not the repulsive man from the picture, but the young, gorgeous Sirius Black from Hogwarts. His eyes and hair stayed the same, but his complexion became fairer – he was quite olive-skinned by nature, something that he had taken from his half-Italian mother. Sirius had always been quite pale in comparison.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Very impressive, Cane," he said.

"Thank you."

Dumbledore now turned his attention to Remus. "Hello, Remus."

"Headmaster."

"How have you been?"

Remus shrugged, invited Dumbledore to have a seat and offered him a cup of tea.

"I've heard that your young charge was a Metamorphmagus, Remus, but I must admit that I never gave much credit to those rumors. After all, Metamorphmagus abilities usually manifest themselves immediately after birth and there was no such thing with Cane."

Remus looked at Cane, who gave no indications of intending to resume his usual form. "I suppose it must have something to do with his birth," he said, "it was too long and hard. They barely managed to save him. I suppose that this shock was enough to stop his abilities for a while."

_Can't they stop discussing my abilities and go to the real problem_, Cane wondered sullenly. He knew for sure why the Headmaster had come and it had nothing to do with Cane Black's morphing and everything to do with Sirius Black's glorious escape. The way Dumbledore kept looking at him made that perfectly clear.

"I suppose you've already seen it," the Headmaster finally said. Remus nodded. His face suddenly looked older and more concerned.

"But how could such a thing happen, Dumbledore?"

"I don't know. The matter is, it _never_ happened before."

"What follows now?"

Dumbledore looked around. "I'd recommend casting your strongest protective wards over this house," he said, "just in case."

Cane blanched. Suddenly, he remembered that the house they were currently living in had belonged to Remus' parents at the time of Sirius' imprisonment, so he would have no problem finding it, if he wanted to. If he was sane enough to escape Azkaban – _Azkaban_, - he would surely be sane enough to find the way up to this place. "But he won't, will he?" he suddenly spoke aloud. "I mean, no one would harm a little girl like Morgaine and a damaged boy like Julian, not even Sirius. Right?"

Again, he felt the piercing blue eyes landing on him, their expression unreadable. "I do believe, Cane, that Morgaine Lupin and your brother are safe for now. It seems that Sirius have another goal now. While he was at Azkaban, he was heard to repeat ceaselessly 'He's at Hogwarts. He's at Hogwarts.' I am certain that he might have meant only one person – Harry Potter."

_Harry Potter. Of course_. That made perfect sense. After all, Harry was the person who was responsible for Voldemort's fall. It made sense that Sirius would be after him. Cane felt weak with relief. It might sound cruel, but he'd rather have Sirius targeting Harry Potter than Julian or Morgaine. Harry Potter would be protected, and protected well – both Dumbledore and the Ministry of Magic would see to that – and, after all, Harry Potter has seeing eyes to use, unlike Julian. He also had a voice to shout incantations with, unlike Morgaine. The possibility of being attacked himself did not bother Cane one bit – he was quite good with hexes and he had long ago learned how to use his fists and knees as damaging weapons. Being bullied as a traitor's son would do that to a person.

Harry Potter, as it seemed, would also have Remus to protect him. Cane silently listened to Dumbledore and Remus discussing Remus' leaving for Hogwarts as a Defense against the Dark Arts teacher and his own leaving for France a bit earlier than the expected end of August, when he and his brother were supposed to start making preparations for their school year at Beauxbatons – Cane's sixth, and Julian's first. He did not like the fact that his own life and future were being discussed in front of Dumbledore – he still felt those blue eyes digging holes in his skull each time the Headmaster looked at him and he very much preferred keeping his thoughts for himself, - but he never debated Remus' decisions in front of strangers, so he kept his mouth shut.

However, that did not stop him from bursting out the moment the front door was shut after the old man. "Merlin, did you see that?" he yelled. "Did you? How he was looking at me? As if he was trying to decide whether he can turn his back at me without fearing that I would stab or curse him while he isn't watching."

Remus slowly shook his head. "You'd better learn to control your temper, Cane," he said. "Because you will receive much more looks like this, that is for sure."

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_A day later…_

As it turned out soon, Remus was right. At the International Floo Centre, from where Cane, the ten-year old Morgaine, and Julian, who was almost twelve, should be able to travel to France, Cane got stopped by the guard wizards, who opened his trunk and started checking each item in there with Supersensoring Anti-Dark Charms. Cane barely restrained his anger, while he was looking at them unpacking all books, all photos, everything he had packed only a few hours later. When he saw that that they were trying their charms over the picture of an attractive red-haired girl, he could not keep himself any longer. "You didn't check the others' luggage like that."

"Their last name wasn't Black."

Ready to explode, he fortunately looked at Remus, who firmly shook his head. So, Cane stood calm and watched the guards rummaging through his things with a stony expression on his face. When they finally got out of the Fireplace in Paris Floo Centre, he noticed a small group of people who were expecting them, but he also noticed the strange glances they were receiving from the personnel, who had seen them Flooing from London to Paris and back for years. _Obviously, the news about Sirius' escape has reached France_. He waved at his friends and started waiting for his luggage, already feeling that this year would be horrible.

Even so, he had no idea about the surprise that would await him at Beauxbatons.

6


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

**Thank you, Lily Hermione Potter, for leaving me a review. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter**

Chapter 3

_A few hours later..._

Cane had rarely felt uncomfortable at Raymond Lupin's house, but now it was one of those occasions. First of all, the house was not the one he knew – as long as he knew, no one was currently living at the big apartment in the centre of Paris, where Uncle Raymond, Aunt Sylvie and their four children had lived for the last twelve years. The abode that the Lupin family occupied now was a spacious old house with a nice garden and all. Yet, Cane was not accustomed to it.

Second, he was not accustomed to the new woman who was sitting at the table with them. Pamela Lupin was a nice looking woman with brown hair and calm, penetrating eyes... and she was pregnant. Very, very pregnant. In fact, she was expected to give birth in less than two weeks. Now, _that_ was a thought that Cane found very confusing. It was so strange – each time he looked at the other end of the table, he almost expected to see Aunt Sylvie there, all red hair and smiles, ready to scold him, or Julian, or Morgaine, as she did with her own four children.

_There aren't four of them__ anymore_, he thought bitterly. True, in his memories they were always the four terrors that turned the flat into a real mess and got Aunt Sylvie on the edge of her nerves, but two years had passed and there were only three of them now, John was no longer there... The thought of John Lupin lying in the magical hospital with no conscience and no sign of life except for the beating of his heart, forever nineteen, as he had been when he had been hit with the Curse of the Living Death, as always left sour taste in Cane's mouth. He stopped eating.

No one said anything about Sirius Black. Cane was silent, too, although by the thoughtful look in Pamela Lupin's eyes he could say that she would gladly talk him into sharing his most intimate thoughts about his father with her – that was her profession, after all. Raymond Lupin had met her, while she had been treating his son Arion – Cane's best friend – because of the depression that the boy had fallen into after the tragic accident with his brother John. Strange as it might sound, Pamela Lupin, a talented witch, had chosen to work as a Muggle psychiatrist. Not for a first time, Cane wondered how it was possible that Raymond's children accepted so easily their living together with their stepmother. Well, human beings could get used to everything – even living under the shameful shade of a father who was a Death Eater and a mass murdered and no, by that he did not mean Raymond Lupin.

After lunch Uncle Raymond took Cane, Julian and his own children, the twins Arion and Arielle and Anath, who was younger, at Rue de Magie to buy their school stuff for their new year at Beauxbatons. Pamela stayed home, but Raymond decided that they should take Morgaine with them, because it would be a nice change for her.

Almost immediately, Cane could tell that the news about Sirius' unheard escape from the English prison were already spreading among the most members of the wizarding society here, in France. He's never been more stared at. He could practically hear the thoughts of the people who kept throwing stealthy looks at him and some bits of their conversations could not escape his hearing.

"Is he somehow related to him? His last name is Black, you know."

"I've always found him quite strange, with his morphing and all... And who is this boy? Is he _blind_ or what?"

"Of course he is, Celestine, haven't you heard of him? He was already blind, when Elise Montresorre married this Englishman, Lupin, and the two children came with him. Yes, their last name really is Black and they are _his_ sons. My aunt Amelie is married in England and she wrote to me and told me everything _years_ ago."

"Do you think he will be ready to help Black? Should he be allowed at Beauxbatons at all?"

Cane pretended not to hear them, but it was not an easy thing, since he was not a patient guy by any means – a trait, inherited by a certain prisoner, because although Angela Peters Black had been quite hot-headed, she had been also a relatively patient person, at least compared to her husband. He had tried so hard to build a new life and now everything was in the open again and he was on the receiving end of ugly rumors and suspicions. Now, they would never leave him alone. Because of Sirius. For God's sake, the only thing that was wanted of the bloody traitor was to die kindly and decently, as any prisoner in Azkaban should do, but of course, Cane simply could not be _that_ lucky. Sirius would ruin his life once again. _Well, I won't let him_, he thought.

What was even worse was the behavior of the people he knew from Beauxbatons. Oh, not all of them looked like they were afraid that he would attack them or something, but those who did were too many for his liking. For God's sake, he's been going to school with these kids for five years! Were they really this stupid to believe that he would - ? _Well, if they are, it's their problem and not mine_, he thought, but it didn't help. Arion kept throwing worried glances at him and Cane knew that his friend feared that he would burst out and do something incredibly stupid.

Finally, they saw two of their classmates, Cecilia and Noel Lerois – twins who were half-blood and thus, maybe not informed about Sirius Black's escape, about who he was and what his connection to Cane was. Anyway, it turned out to be a false hope, because Cecilia was reading a newspaper with a certain picture of a shabby man with a maniac grin – Cane would recognize it everywhere – with a very intrigued expression. Her brother poked her, when he saw their classmates approaching, and she hurriedly closed the newspaper and tried to look as innocent as possible. She did not master the innocent look well enough, but at least both she and Noel looked embarrassed of being caught reading the article and not afraid of the mad murderer's relative, when they greeted Cane and the others and invited them to sit with them at the open-air café and have a rest from shopping. Recognizing the silent apology and proposal for continuing their friendship, Cane accepted and seeing this, Arion and Arielle said that they would love a cup of coffee.

Everyone sat around the table and Arielle smiled at the younger boy, who was looking at them with interest. "And who is this?"

"This is our brother," Noel said. "He's starting Beauxbatons this year, so we brought him with us to buy his school supplies."

"Andre Lerois," the boy introduced himself. He did not look like his siblings at all – while Cecilia and Noel had white-blond hair, cold blue eyes and creamy skin, Andre was dark-skinned, with brown hair and black eyes. He was quite nice-looking, as well as friendly, and his smile was infectious.

"Well, then I'm doing you a favor – you'll meet with some of your classmates before the beginning of the term," Cane said. "This is my brother Julian. I am Cane. Cane Black."

Andre's eyes widened slightly, but not because of the last name. He seemed shaken when Julian Black stretched a hand in his direction, but not at the right height. In less than a second, Andre realized that the other boy was blind.

A moment later Andre had regained control over himself and shook the offered hand, before Julian could withdraw it. "Nice to meet you," he said. "It'll be good to know at least one person before the term starts."

"Two people," the red-haired Anath corrected him. "This is my first year too. I'm Anath Lupin."

They shook hands and Andre looked at the last of the newcomers – a girl with silver hair and incredible blue eyes. He smiled and asked, "Are you going to Beauxbatons this year too?"

She shook her head and his face slightly fell. "She is coming next year," Julian said. "Her name is Morgaine. Morgaine Lupin."

"Morgaine? As in Morgaine Le Fay?"

Anath laughed. "Does she look like a witch?" she asked. It was obviously a joke, since Morgaine _was_ a witch. They all were – Cecilia, Arielle, Anath herself.

The four children gathered together at the one end of the table and the five teenagers started talking in the other. Cecilia and Noel talked about their holiday in Japan and were very eager to hear all details about the case that had been keeping at least half of the French wizard society in tension – a _very_ amorous, obviously, wizard, who had used various love potions and the Imperius Curse on _twenty-nine_ unsuspecting Muggle girls to make them fall in love with him, impregnating eleven of them, and when the Aurors had finally come upon his tracks, he had cursed the young female Auror who had come to arrest him and had made her help him escape. Finally, they had caught him again, but the Auror who had helped him had had an action taken against her only a few days earlier and had been finally able to prove that she had been acting under the Imperius Curse. As her immediate superior, Arion and Arielle's mother had testified in court and had insisted that the girl's suspension should be only temporary, until she learned how to defend herself better.

Looking cautiously around, Arielle gestured to the others to draw their heads nearer and continued almost in a whisper, "The truth is, Mum was furious, but not with Noise Allon. She was against hiring her in the first place. She thought that Allon was just not qualified enough. She wanted to continue her training for another year, but her superiors at the Ministry decided that they needed to start hiring more women and Muggleborns, so that everyone could see that they did not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Allon is both female and a Muggleborn, so she fitted all the conditions."

"Except for being adequately prepared for her job," Noel muttered, "and here we are. Bloody Ministry."

"You mean that Allon is the culprit for the tries of the Ministry to win good graces?" Cecilia asked. "That they knew she wasn't qualified and yet they landed her in case with such importance and when she couldn't handle it, they just left her deal with the consequences alone?"

"Yes, Cissy, I am afraid that we mean just that," Arion answered.

The blond girl suddenly shuddered and her beautiful face darkened with worry. "If things keep going like this, we'll be totally unprepared, when You-Know-Who – "

"Voldemort," her brother corrected her softly.

"- when Voldemort comes back. If all we care about is our image, then how on earth are we going to fight, when it comes to this?"

Looking at her slender frame, her aristocratic facial features, her blond hair, held by a silver slide with a single ruby in it – a real one, there was no doubt about that – and her expensive makeup, her friends could not think of someone who looked less fit for fighting and yet, they knew how strong her slim arms were. They had seen her sending Malrot to the hospital wing when he had insulted her Muggle father. She had the bravest heart ever and that was why she had been sorted in Coeur de Tigre – the Tiger House.

Her voice sounded completely normal, without any hint that some of them – like the sons of the mass murderers – may not be willing to take part in the forthcoming battle and Cane was grateful for this. He still felt the looks of the passers-by, but they were easier to ignore now, when his friends supported him.

"Hey, where are they going?" Arielle suddenly asked. The others followed her look: the children were not at the table anymore. They were inside the café, in front of the window display with the cakes and were examining them with utmost care.

"Well, Andre is not having another piece of cake," Cissy said firmly, "so he can stop looking at them with such concentration. He already ate two and enough is enough."

Noel laughed softly. "I don't think he wants a third piece," he said. "I'd rather say that he is choosing the best one for a lady."

Totally confused, the others looked at Andre more closely and saw that he was pointing one or another of the various cakes and pastries at Morgaine, who looked at them apprehensively and then at Andre with a sweet smile.

Noel chuckled again. "While you guys were exchanging news, I used a bit of my time to give an eye and an ear on them."

"And what did you see and hear?" His sister arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow.

"Enough," he said "to know that I've met the future Madame Lerois."

"You think - ?" Cane started.

"He's besotted with her."

Cane looked again. He had to admit that his friend had a point there. The boy's eager face and excited speech very much resembled the nervous way in which most men had behaved when they had been talking to Morgaine's gorgeous, half-Veela mother – Remus' late wife. Fortunately, the girl obviously did not share Andre's agitation of mind. _Of course she doesn't share it, you idiot. She's only ten!_ All was well for now, but after five or six years who could tell?

Cane shook his head and laughed at himself. Only a few minutes ago he's been worrying about the effect of Sirius' escape and now he was worrying about his baby sister future love life? _I suppose I can't let myself go mental over Sirius' escape, unless I really have to. Which will happen in the end, but not now. Not today. _He looked at his friends and decided to enjoy the day as much as he could.

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_A few weeks later…_

He did not know what had made him come here. All the time he had spend in France this summer, he had vowed over and over that he would never set foot in this house again and yet, here he was.

Remus had told him that he had asked his brother to deal with selling the house and Uncle Raymond had already found a possible purchaser. Tomorrow, they would come together to see the house and when Cane heard it, he could not help coming here for what might be the last time. Who knew, maybe that would help him control his violent desire to bite Remus' head off as soon as he had the possibility. What was Remus thinking! To sell _their_ house? Their home? The house where they had lived so many years as a happy family? That was… Cane simply could not understand it.

But Remus Lupin had had a great luck for not being at home, when Cane had Firecalled him.

Some of the old neighbours in this quiet district of Paris recognized him and he talked to them for a while. They wanted to know whether he, Remus and the children were coming back to live here and he found it surprisingly hard to tell them that Remus was selling the house and they were not coming back. Never.

He still had his keys and the front door opened without sticking. He entered and in the falling dusk the small garden looked sad and abandoned. True, Elise had never been like those English ladies who lived for their gardens, but she had loved taking care of her flowers and exotic shrubs. Now, they were all dead and withering, with weeds sprouting everywhere. He unlocked the next door and entered the house.

It looked just as lonely and abandoned as the garden. Cane coughed from the accumulated dust, but decided that cleaning it with a spell was not worth it the trouble that he would find himself in for using magic while underaged. He just tried not to breathe hard and when he finally decided that he was ready, he switched the Muggle electric lights on.

The memories came to him immediately. The high ceilings, the walls, painted in fine, light colours, the old Persian carpet on the floor, the curve of the spiral staircase – all that was so familiar and so dear to him that he almost stopped breathing. He had hurried through that door, tired and sweaty, not to break his curfew, he had ridden his bicycle in the streets outside, he had hidden under this staircase from Elise's – or, in rarer occasions, Remus' – rightful anger. He had eaten pancakes in this kitchen, listening to the morning conversations, mingled with the music coming from the radio. He had seen Julian and Morgaine learning how to walk on this floor. He had cleaned every item in the house by hand, he had torn flowers from the garden to present Elise – or later Arielle and Fleur – with them, he had read hundreds of books, sprawled in the lounge outside in the summer. In short, that had been his home, where he had lived happily. And now it would pass in the hands of some strangers…

Cane slowly went in the back of the house and entered the ballet studio where Elise had worked, when she had been home. Her ballet things had been packed and taken out long ago, of course. Cane still had no idea what Remus had done with them. He had never asked.

He knew what happened to the record albums, though, the music on which Elise had danced or just the songs that they had been so fond of – she and Remus. Although Remus never did it in front of the kids, after they had moved out, he sometimes played them in the night. Cane had often seen him, when he himself had had trouble sleeping – sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed and the lights off, listening to the music and dreaming about what had been.

He turned the lights on, closed the door and looked in the large empty room. There had never been too much furniture here, only the things that Elise had needed for her dancing, but now there was nothing left – only the big mirrors, covering the long wall. Cane looked at them, as if he expected to see someone who was not there… a dancing ballerina with silver hair, flushed face and concentrated and determined look on her face. But all he saw was his own pale face, reflecting in all those mirrors.

It would never be the same.

That thought saddened him. The loss was irrevocable and keeping the house would not fill the emptiness. That was a part of their life that had ended forever and on some level, he had still refused to acknowledge it. This house had stopped feeling like home without Elise in it long ago and Remus had known that. That was the reason why he had moved them all to England. That was the reason why he had finally decided to sell the house. It was all over and had been so for long, long ago.

Someone opened the door. For a moment, Cane thought that it was Remus coming in – the young Remus he remembered from his childhood. Then, he realized. It was Arion.

"Cane, Dad told me about the house and I realized that you must be here. You must – "

He stopped, when he saw his friend's expression. There were no tears in Cane's eyes, but desperation. He slowly shook his head.

Arion stepped quickly next to him. "Cane, are you feeling bad?"

"No."

"I know that Uncle's decision to sell the house must be a shock for you, but – "

"No," Cane interrupted him, "Remus is right. I was happy here. We all were."

Arion nodded, thinking of the day, when he himself had left his childhood home with his father and his sisters. How awful he had felt. It was always difficult to say goodbye to the past.

"I remember."

"But these days are over, Arion. There is no place for me here anymore. And Remus is right, we can use the money. Why should we keep this house, when none of us is going to live here anymore?" He sighed and then smiled. 'Come on, mate, let's go. I have nothing to do here anymore."

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_An hour later…_

"WHAT?" Cane exploded.

Sylvie Saint Claire, the former Sylvie Lupin, did not repeat her words – she knew that there was nothing wrong with Cane's hearing.

When Cane stood up and started pacing the room, no one said anything. Raymond, Arielle, Arion, and their other best friend Fleur Delacour – they were all standing there and looking at him silently, waiting for him to calm down. When his ankle brushed the little coffee table and the six cups of untouched coffee fell down and soaked the carpet with the black liquid, reaching as far as Raymond's robes, no one made a comment. They did not even bother to _Scourgify _the stains.

"Well?" Cane had finally stopped pacing. "Tell me that I just did not understand your words right."

"I doubt you misunderstood me, Cane," Sylvie said calmly. "The Ministry here is willing to support the English Ministry in every way they can to help them catch Sirius again and that is one of the measures that they decided to adopt."

"A measure!" Cane roared. "This is madness, that's what it is. Merlin's pants, what the hell do they expect? That one night I will skulk out of bed and scurry to help Sirius? That I am his accomplice, maybe, that I even helped him escape? Aunt Sylvie, I was four, when he went to prison. Four years, damn it! What do they expect – "

"I know, I know," the woman interrupted him. "_I_ know, Cane. But I am not the one in charge. I can't beat the idiotic decision. I just wanted to warn you in advance, so you wouldn't be surprised, when you find your new - err, roommates."

"Gaolers," Cane corrected her sullenly.

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_The next day…_

Cane might not be surprised, but his roommates certainly were – and the surprise was not of the pleasant kind.

"_Merde_, what's going on here?" That was Noel's greeting, when Cane and Arion entered their dormitory at Coeur de Tigre at Beauxbatons.

He was referring to the four Aurors who were standing in the middle of the room, looking at what had been long ago called 'Cane Black's Seven Deadly Sins': a collection of copies of seven decrees, issued at Beauxbatons for the five years that Cane had spent there. On the top, there was Madame Maximme, their respected Headmistress. Her face was a picture of rightful anger. She was looking menacingly at the kneeling Cane, who, in turn, was looking at her pitifully and pleadingly with one purple and one green eye. He had an elongated nose, resembling an elephant's trunk, and since the picture had been charmed to turn him in two half-faces, it was clear that half of his face was his own, while the other one resembled a profile of a beautiful girl; half of his mouth wore pink lipstick. One of his hands was his normal one and, while the other was that of a girl again, manicure and all. Below the picture, a list of vetoes could be seen, as follows:

1. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to morph into any member of the school staff to get someone out of trouble. (That decree had been issued after Cane had been caught changing into his Head of House to get Arion out of the spot of trouble with the caretaker.)

2. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to morph into any member of the school staff to get someone in trouble. (Cane had been caught trying to give a detention to another student, disguised as the Potion Master.)

3. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to morph into any of their classmates to get another classmate in trouble. (That had almost worked, but Cane had screwed up his timing and the real Louis Armagnac had come while he had been still snogging a girl other than Armagnac's girlfriend, Arielle Lupin, hoping that Armagnac's infidelity would make her break up with him. Arielle had refused to talk to him for three weeks after the accident.)

4. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to morph into any of their classmates to get them out of trouble. (The Astronomy teacher had seen Cane's classmate, Marcel Deboyne, in the corridor at 15.33, so it had been impossible for him to have flooded the sixth floor in 15.36, unless he could have been in two places at the same time.)

5. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to change their appearance into that of an unknown student in order to avoid being recognized and appointed detentions. (This particular decree had been broken so many times that no one took it seriously, but it was official, so his classmates had included it in the Sins.)

6. Metamorphmagi are not allowed to morph in order to get better grades for their Polyjuice Potion. (The reason for this one was clear.)

The place for the seventh sin was left empty, but no one doubted that Cane would think of something worthy of a final decree. He always did.

Now, the four Aurors were looking at the piece of parchment with obvious disgust. _Not a good sense of humor, huh?_ Cane himself had always taken the Sins as a good joke, but to the newcomers, it obviously looked like the ultimate proof for the young Black's criminal tendencies. He turned his back at them and explained to the others, "It seems that the Ministry wants to make sure I won't dart off to help Sirius Black. That's why they're sending these gentlemen to keep an eye on me."

"Keep an eye on you – how?" Marcel Deboyne asked.

"Well, let's check."

Cane crossed the room to his bed.

The Aurors stopped looking at the Sins and came after him.

Cane sat on the bed.

One of their guests took out his wand and produced four chairs, on which they all sat.

Cane stood up.

The Aurors did too.

Cane started pacing the room.

They followed his steps.

He stopped.

The Aurors stopped too.

Cane was ready to howl. Was that how it was going to be for the next _year_? Were they going to follow him _everywhere_, from bed to classes? Of course, Aunt Sylvie had already given him the answer.

His three roommates were looking at him and the horror in their eyes was slowly growing.

"Are we stuck up with them?" Noel finally asked.

The Aurors remained impassive, as if they had not heard him.

"I am afraid so," Cane said.

"But – but there is no room for more beds."

It was a poor, last attempt for escaping their fate and they all knew it. One of the men waved his wand and the dormitory was suddenly enlarged, with four more beds, surrounding Cane's.

He closed his eyes. Dear Merlin, he was already starting to feel like a prisoner himself!

Even so, there were some lines that needed to be defined right now. He stood up and let the four Aurors follow him to the bathroom door, where he turned round and said, "I don't care what your orders are, I won't let you in with me _here_. Is that clear?"

He slammed the door and found with relief that it remained closed.

He was sure that this night, he would have nightmares.

He was almost right.

The dream was one that he had not had in years. He saw himself as a very small child back in the flat in London. He remembered his mother coming to check on him in the night. He could smell the scent of her perfume, to feel her hands fixing the blanket. And then he saw him – Sirius. Sirius, throwing him in the air. He threw him up so high that it felt like flying. They were both laughing. When he woke up, Cane suddenly remembered that he had never been afraid when Sirius had been throwing him. He had known that Daddy would always be there to catch him. And he remembered hearing his mother's voice. "Sirius, be careful," she'd been saying but she'd been laughing, too.

Cane clenched his teeth in the darkness_. Why, Sirius? Why did you do it? We had everything! Why did you have to risk it all to serve _Voldemort_? What did you gain?_ He did not know the answer to that question. Who could say what was behind the Death Eaters' choice? It was impossible to understand, at least for the normal human mind. Cane only knew that what Voldemort had offered must have been a great allurement to them. To Sirius.

He continued lying in the fading darkness, not daring to move, because he knew that every noise from his bed would wake up the four men watching him. _Damn you, Sirius Black, I hope you rot in hell!_

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**Read? Yes. Review? Please!**


	3. Chapter 3

The Prisoner's Son

_Disclaimer: I own the plot. Nothing else._

**Thanks to the two people who left reviews: Lily Hermione Potter and toujourspurPAL****.**

Chapter 3

_Two months__ later…_

Arion Lupin sighed with relief, when he finally entered the common room. The Quidditch practice had been harder than usual, both due to the rain that was pouring outside and the absence of one of their Beaters.

Although, he secretly admitted to himself, it was kind of refreshing having a practice without being monitored by four Aurors. Not that he would ever admit that to Cane, of course.

He looked at Noel, who was walking next to him, and smiled. "Good play, mate," he said honestly. Noel had started playing Chaser after Arielle left the team the year before and although the other players had had their doubts initially, Noel had proved that their fears were ungrounded.

Noel grimaced. "A wet play," he corrected. "_Dieu_, I could kill for a shower and something cold to drink."

Arion laughed. It was true that Noel looked worse than him – not that Arion was less muddy or sweaty, but Noel's fair complexion and white-blond hair made him look somehow ridiculous – as if someone had decided that it would be great fun to stand in front of a snowman and throw mud at it. He told his friend that and Noel laughed too.

They started climbing up the stairs that were leading to their dormitory, when a door suddenly opened and Cissy emerged from the sixth year girls' dormitory. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were shooting daggers. "How was the practice?" she asked.

"Good," her brother answered. "What's the matter?"

"Can't you guess?"

They could. "Well, I must admit that he acts more quickly than most of the others think," Noel said. "When did he find the time to serve his detention _and_ pick a quarrel with you?"

"And Marcel," Cissy elaborated. "Well, he's a guy of many talents."

"Guys, would you stop it?" Arion interrupted. He knew that they were right, but he did not feel comfortable with someone discussing Cane in a negative manner. Even if Cane deserved it!

Cissy shrugged and went out of the common room. Noel and Arion continued for their dormitory.

They heard Cane before seeing him, before even opening the door: his voice was raised in furious and probably completely unreasonable anger. Their other roommate, Marcel, answered with equal frustration and then they heard Cane. Again. They could not understand what he was saying but they knew he was just being short-tempered. Again.

He'd been at it for weeks. They had heard – and seen – him in this state periodically as the term was getting on. It was progressing with speed that was openly frightening. Cane had been getting into some sort of confrontation with virtually everyone who had been so foolish as to approach him – or who had had the misfortune of sharing a dormitory with him. Not that they couldn't see his reasons: being constantly whispered about because of your father, the mad Death Eater's murderer could flare one's temper even if it weren't as hot as Cane's. Being followed all the time by four Aurors was even worse.

That did not make everything easier, though. Living with Cane Black had turned into a nightmare. A hell on earth. Cane felt it and that … that just made everything worse!

At first, his roommates and his friends had tried to be understanding, but Cane's hostile altitude had finally dissuaded them. Arielle, Fleur and Arion alone treated him normally, no matter how abnormal his own behavior was. They had grown up with him and they could fully understand that Cane was not the one who would accept lightly being constantly monitored – in fact, being held prisoner – by the four Aurors. He had been banned from leaving the caste grounds; he could not send a letter or receive one without its content being checked first. He could find privacy only when he was in his bed, having closed the curtains. No, that was no life for someone as proud and energetic as Cane Black.

Noel looked at Arion. "Are you going to talk to him?" he asked. Most of the time, Arion was the only one who could knock some sense into Cane's thick skull.

"I'll try."

He tried, and failed, to both Noel and Marcel's dismay. Even Arion's patient friendship could do little to overcome the effects that the whole Sirius Black mess was having on Cane. It was true, he stopped his fight with Marcel… only to lash out at Arion. And while he answered calmly to Cane's heated, even insulting words, Arion could not help but ask himself whether it was worth it. He could understand Cane bursting out at people who threw insulting hints at him, but lashing out at his _friends_, at Arion – was their friendship worth it the abnormal tension that Cane was forcing him to live into? Arion was tired of always being the patient one, the understanding one, when Cane needed to land his anger onto someone. Which meant virtually every hour of every day.

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_A few hours later…_

"Arion! Wake up! Arion! Come on, mate, wake up now! You're dreaming!"

Arion's eyes snapped opened. He immediately realized what was going on – it was no less frightening, but too familiar. A candle was throwing its tiny light between the closedcurtains of his bed. Cane was sitting on it, his hand still holding Arion's shoulder, although he was not shaking him anymore. A minute later, Arion's breathing calmed a little and Cane handed him a glass of water, which he silently drank. He looked at the Aurors to see whether they had become witnesses to the previous scene, but they were all sleeping.

"Maybe I should put a Silencing Charm around my bed," Arion finally whispered. "Sorry for waking you up."

"Don't be silly, I wasn't sleeping anyway," Cane lied and Arion pretended to believe him. For a while, they both fell silent. "Was it the same dream again?" Cane asked then.

"It's always the same one. I'm dreaming that I am in that room again, with John and Elle. I'm trying to wake them up, to get them back to conscience, and then someone opens the door and lungs for me. I know that this is the man who cursed them, and I can see his face – as clearly as I can see yours now, - but when I wake up, I cannot remember it."

"Arion…" Cane sighed softly. There was no irritation on his face now, just concern about Arion. His friend had not been the same after the awful accident with his elder brother John two years ago. John and his girlfriend Eleanor had been cursed with the Curse of the Living Death and would remain unconscious for the rest of their lives, while Arion, who had probably witnessed that, had been Obliviated and could not remember a single thing. That nightmare had ruined his family, his parents' marriage, the life as he knew it. And he could not remember what had happened. If only he could… he had to! But he couldn't.

"Maybe, if I go to a Curse-Breaker…"

"No!" Cane interrupted him sharply. "Uncle Raymond says it's too dangerous and if someone knows something about these things, it's him. Just fall asleep… and try not to dream about that."

"If wishes were horses…" Arion sighed tiredly. "Could you stay here for a few more minutes?" he asked.

Cane shrugged in the dim light of the candle. "Sure thing, mate."

He was so caring. It was almost impossible to believe that it was the same person who had verbally attacked Arion without any reason only a few hours ago . How many faces did Cane Black have? Did he change his soul as swiftly as his looks?

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_Two months__ later…_

"Seven stirs and not eight!" Cane hissed with more anger than Arion's mistake could justify.

Arion clenched his jaw, trying not to succumb to Cane's provocations. It was obvious that Cane was looking for a victim to land his bad mood upon. But Arion Lupin would not be that victim, no matter what Cane's intentions were. He merely continued to brew his potion.

"Any problems, Messier Black?" The Potion Master had approached their table, looking at Cane with half-closed eyes.

Cane was on the verge to burst out and say 'yes', but somehow the good sense overcame his wish to quarrel with someone, so he answered, "No, Sir."

"I am glad to hear it," the teacher said and started towards the other end of the classroom. "Five points from your House for telling the answer to another student."

So much about good sense. Cane had just opened his mouth to tell the teacher how much exactly did he care about House points, when the great oak door was slammed open with a loud bang. Everyone looked in that direction.

Under the arch of the door, they saw a tall Auror and behind him – another one. They both looked around with gloomy eyes and dark faces. Arion remembered seeing the first one in the Ministry, when he went there to visit his mother.

"Cane Black," the tall Auror said. "Come with us, boy."

Cane hesitantly bit his lip. "What do you want?"

"You should come with us to the Ministry."

Without thinking, Cane made a step towards them, as if to follow them, but the Potion Master's hand landed heavily on his shoulder.

"And why is that sudden interest in Mr Black?" the old man asked calmly. "I would have thought that the Ministry would have more important things to do than losing its time with a student."

"Don't go beyond your rights, schoolmaster," the Auror said. "That's none of your business."

"But it is _my_ business," Cane stated, hand on his wand. "What happened?"

"Sirius Black managed to enter the castle of Hogwarts and even entered the dormitories," that's what happened."

Cane laughed aloud. "And _both_ British and our Ministries think I am involved in this?" he asked. "Are you mental? I was four years old, when he went to prison, _four years old_, damn it! When will this little bit of information find its way in your heads, so you can stop losing your time with me and start using it for something beneficial, like tracking Sirius down?"

"Leave this wand, boy, you won't need it," the tall man said. "We aren't criminals, we are Aurors."

"Like Sirius was, when he commit a murder," Cane said. "I am not going anywhere with you."

The Auror finally lost patience. "Seize him!" he said and five Aurors – the second newcomer and the four who had previously guarded Cane – started walking towards the young Metamorphmagus.

A few wands swished, being taken out of the pockets, and Arion, Arielle and Fleur made a step to stand in front of Cane, who pushed them aside, having already gripped his own wand.

The old Potion Master stood between him and the advancing men and took his own wand out. "You will stop here," he said, not loudly, but firmly. "Is that the Ministry politics now, to frighten children? Are you men, or what?"

"Out of the way, old man," one of the Aurors said.

"Out of my classroom," the teacher said, and raised a shield between the Aurors and the students. "Out of the school, actually. Mr Black isn't going anywhere without Madame Maximme's permission, which she won't give, so you can as well clear off immediately. I have a lesson to teach and you are disturbing us."

The five Aurors pointed their wands simultaneously at the shield and it disappeared. Cane's wand immediately swished and a long red cut shone red on the arm of the man who was standing the closest. "My arm!" he groaned, and Noel, who had already drawn his own wand out, Disarmed him with a quick _Expelliarmus_.

For a moment, they stood there, looking at each other: the six Aurors and the teenagers who were bristled with anger, and their Potion Master, wands pointed at each other. The other students – twenty sixth years from two Houses – watched horrified. Not all of them liked Cane Black and he had estranged even his friends with his constant bad mood, but being interrogated by the Ministry was a serious matter, otherwise they wouldn't have sent Aurors to take him. Beauxbatons was supposed to be a safe place for all students and now those six men had ruined that idea for mere minutes. The Ministry had no right to intervene, let alone arrest students. Especially when said student had had virtually no possibility to become an accomplice of Sirius Black, not with the four Aurors watching his every step.

Everybody could see that Cane Black was not going to surrender without a fight. There could be bloodshed any minute.

And then Cissy Lerois looked at her classmates. "Why on earth are you standing like that?" she yelled. "Are you waiting for Sirius Black to come and set things right?"

Then the student mass moved with great force. Within a minute, Cane Black was surrounded by people who looked at the Aurors menacingly, gripping their wands.

The six men were hesitating. They could not leave without Cane Black, but they could not attack students either. And it was obvious that the kids would not hand Black to them without a fight.

The silence continued. The tension grew stronger.

Until Arion Lupin cut it. He made a step towards the Aurors. "Leave," he said loudly and furiously. "Leave this classroom. Leave our school. And do not come back."

Again, the students felt like a dam had just broken. Suddenly, everyone knew what they should do: they needed to get Beauxbatons cleaned of the whole Sirius Black mess. If Englishmen had problems with the security of Hogwarts, it was their problem and theirs alone. They needed to make their school what it had been only a few months ago: a school. A safe place. Not a place of a house-arrest.

"Out!" Marcel Deboyne cried.

"Out!" a short girl with auburn hair echoed.

"Out! Leave our school!"

" Clear off! You won't take anybody and you won't come back!"

The students started advancing towards the Aurors, menacingly, and started pushing them out of the classroom. No one was using their wands, though – they had realized that they were stronger this way. If they attacked, the Aurors would have the right to defend themselves. Attacking a student unprovoked, though, would cost the attacker its job and probably a prosecution.

"Leave!"

"It isn't the Ministry here, it's a school!"

"Out!"

This night, for a first time in months, Cane Black fell asleep, feeling calm and content, and grateful, and incredibly happy. And when he woke up, there only person watching him was Arion, who said that they were late for breakfast. While he was putting his clothes on, Cane's eyes were drawn to the wall and they widened, as he read, "Metamorphmagi are not allowed to be dragged out of the school by false authorities."

His friends had just completed Cane Black's Seven Deadly Sins.

He laughed and followed Arion downstairs.

8


End file.
